Following a drastic meta change between stages, the Chengdu Hunters were ready to show fans exactly how innovative they can be. Meanwhile, Paris entered this map determined to give a good impression at the start of Stage 2.
Rough start for the Hunters. This first match seemed very scrappy on both sides. In round one, the team seemed completely outmatched. In round two the Hunters barely pulled ahead. Finally, in round three the team managed to build up momentum and defeat the Eternal. Chengdu won the first map in a rough 2-1 victory.
In a meta where comp diversity is more common, Chengdu still manages to play even weirder comps than the rest of the league. They jumped out of the spawn on Hanamura with Elsa on Symmetra and JinMu on Junkrat. This unusual comp took Paris by surprise and won Chengdu both points A and B. In Response, the Eternal raced through their own attack with a more standard composition. Both teams entered round three with a similar time bank.
Unfortunately, the Hunters’ Bastion-Torbjorn composition didn’t hold for very long. After losing point A, they switched team comps. Baconjack’s Tracer, ameng’s Wrecking Ball and JinMu’s Sombra did a much better job holding point B.
After that, the Hunters played Symmetra, Baptiste, Orisa, Junkrat, Mercy and Soldier: 76. Their unconventional use of Symmetra’s teleporter netted the team two swift captures to win the map. Chengdu finished the map 4-3.
Pylon Terrace second point
Baconjack’s Tracer carried his team through points A and B of Blizzard World. When the Hunters met some resistance at point C, they swapped to a Sombra-based 3-3 comp. This swap helped them secure the rest of the map with minutes remaining.
On defense, the Hunters ran Baconjack on Soldier: 76 and Elsa on Tracer. To complement the strange hero choice, the team decided to hold their defense directly outside Paris’s spawn doors. Once again, their strategy worked. The Eternal only captured point A in overtime. Chengdu’s defense fell apart after that, and the Eternal completed the map.
In round 3, the Hunters held point A easily. Then they won their attack with time to spare, winning the map with a final score of 4-3.
Li “GARRY” Guon joined the fray in Map 4. His Zenyatta supported JinMu’s Pharah as they completed points A and B. On point C they switched to 3-3 and didn’t quite have the same impact. Paris managed to hold point C. To compensate, they ran double sniper on their defense to hold Paris at point A. Their defense was only barely broken at point A, giving them a strong advantage for the rest of the map. After a clutch self-destruct from Elsa, the Chengdu Hunters held point B and won the map 2-1.
The Hunters were extremely strong in this match. They continued to use their own brand of unconventional compositions and make it work. While their 3-3 composition seems to be their weakest point, their surprise factor and mechanical skill are more than enough to overpower their opponents. This team will continue to surpass expectations throughout the stage.
Featured image courtesy of the Overwatch League
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